Sex abuse and the Catholic Church

On Aug 14, a grand Jury in Pennsylvania released a report detailing the abuse suffered by over 1,000 child victims and names 300 Catholic priests as credibly accused. The report shed light on the decades-long effort of Catholic Church officials to shield the perpetrators from prosecution, and generally hide details of the crimes from the public.

Catholics are calling on Pope Francis and the U.S. Bishops to order a full, immediate, and impartial investigation of any and all allegations of cover up. Lay leadership must be involved as a step toward re-establishing trust with Catholics in the U.S. and elsewhere. Transparency and accountability must be the goals.

The abuse issue is systemic to the structure of the church. Mandatory celibacy for priests can cause psychological problems that can lead to sex abuse. Lack of lay involvement means there is no check and balance on the total power of the ordained. The seminary system itself has abuse issues. Now some Cardinals and Archbishops are being called out for their crimes of abuse and cover-up.

Organizations such as Future Church, Dignity USA, Call To Action, and Women’s Ordination Conference are working for such changes. Let us follow their lead.

See the letter to the editor in The Olympian here.